New Contact Lens Technology Offers Promise to Decrease the Progression of Myopia

A new contact lens design for myopia progression control (MPC) developed by
Visioneering Technologies, Inc. (VTI), an Alpharetta, Ga.-based start-up, shows significant potential for decreasing myopic progression based on animal study results, according to a paper published in the journal, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (IOVS).

Conducted by the Centre for Contact Lens Research at the University of Waterloo's School of Optometry & Vision Science in Canada, the purpose of the randomized, masked animal study was to determine the effect of wearing VTI's unique MPC optical design on the development and progression of defocus-induced myopia in newly hatched chickens.

Vuzix CEO Paul Travers Discusses the Emerging Smart Glasses Market

Vuzix, a Rochester, NY-based company, is establishing itself as an innovator in the emerging market for smart glasses and augmented reality eyewear. The company’s newest products include the sleek new Smart Glasses M100, which were picked as the best new technology in the Wireless Handset Accessories product category at this year’s Consumer Electronic Show, and the STAR 1200XL (left), a see-through augmented reality eyewear system that offers a wide field of view, a high performance HD camera and adjustable eye separation.

In an exclusive interview with Eye2 editor Andrew Karp, Vuzix CEO Paul J. Travers shared his perspectives on what’s driving the smart glasses market, what types of consumers will buy the glasses, and how Vuzix is designing its next generation product with an eye toward eyeglass fashion.

Researchers Say Video Game Can Be Used to Treat Amblyopia

A research team led by Dr. Robert Hess from McGill University and the Research Institute of the
McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) in Montreal, Canada, has used the popular puzzle video game Tetris in an innovative approach to treat adult amblyopia, commonly known as "lazy eye." By distributing information between the two eyes in a complementary fashion, the video game trains both eyes to work together, which is counter to previous treatments for the disorder (e.g. patching).

This medical breakthrough provides direct evidence that alleviating suppression of the weaker eye, by forcing both eyes to cooperate, increases the level of plasticity in the brain and allows the amblyopic brain to relearn, according to McGill University. The research is published in the journal Current Biology.

Drawing heavily upon nature for inspiration, a team of researchers has created a new artificial lens that is nearly identical to the natural lens of the human eye. This innovative lens, which is made up of thousands of nanoscale polymer layers, may one day provide a more natural performance in implantable lenses to replace damaged or diseased human eye lenses, as well as consumer vision products; it also may lead to superior ground and aerial surveillance technology.

This work, which the Case Western Reserve University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, and PolymerPlus team describes in the
Optical Society's (OSA) open-access journal
Optics Express, also provides a new material approach for fabricating synthetic polymer lenses.

Send us news about new optical technologies, provide us with subjects and/or questions for a future Eye² Q&A or let us know what topics you'd like to see covered. Contact Eye²'s Editor Andrew Karp at akarp@jobson.com.